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Wednesday 24 January 2018

2 out of 9 aint bad

The dress is finished, it was a very quick and easy make. I know that it goes against my "Explore" word for the year BUT, this is the simplest sewing project that I have done for many years.  Sometimes it is good to go back to basics, it is the first shift dress that I have lined. the others have all had the bodice and skirt lined separately and then joined together. In the 60's when shift dresses were the in thing it was all about facings, no lining at all.


It does look a bit sack like on the hangar but is fine on. It is loose as I want to wear it as a pinafore over a long sleeved top on cooler days and on hot days I can not do with clingy clothes. I may wear it with a belt  at times to give it a little shape.
I will be making this up again and I am seriously thinking of buying the Sew Over It Ultimate shift dress pattern for a slightly different shape and construction method.

I made a quick tomato and lentil soup for lunch yesterday, I read a blog post from Joy at The Frugal Factor and that set me off.



I sent a text off to W, saying that there would be a spicy soup on offer for lunch. He responded with glee and within 45 minutes we were eating this glorious soup, I had baked a loaf of seeded bread so he had some of that as well. 
We just had soup and boy it was good, I didn't follow a recipe I used a tin of tomatoes about a cup of red lentils, an onion, 2 sticks of celery, 2 carrots a 2" bit of fresh ginger and 3 cloves of garlic. Spices were 1 tsp each cumin, coriander, turmeric and the last shake from a jar of cajun seasoning. Homemade veg stock and just let it simmer away till the lentils were soft and there was just a little crunch in the carrots and celery. I was a tad generous with the spices so added a little coconut cream to calm it down slightly.

It was so good that I had made a start before I thought to take a photo, there was just a little left in the pot which I will use in something. 
We didn't have the chilli after all that spice, I did jacket potatoes with grated cheese and home made coleslaw, lush.

We did have a pudding of sorts, I have recently found the Green Gourmet Giraffe blog and made her Banana and Coconut cake. It is a vegan recipe and is utterly delicious but next time I will add more coconut. We had a slice each of that while slightly warm, it was moist but not too gooey and very light. I made 2 and cooked the potatoes on the top shelf, they needed another 15 minutes with the heat cranked up to make them wonderfully crisp.

Now I have made myself hungry, the toaster calls.


                  TTFN                                          Pam



22 comments:

  1. Love your dress, sewing on a rainy day is just bliss.

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    1. Either that or some knitting and an old film on the box.

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  2. The dress is very pretty. Simple styles like that are very versatile. That soup looks so good to warm up a January day.

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    1. Thank you, the soup was as good as it looked and will be repeated many times.

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  3. That soup looks absolutely delicious and totally different from mine. I think it's great that we can ring the changes to show our own creativity. I must give it a go and make it more spicy and leave it chunky. Thanks.
    I think the dress is lovely, absolutely perfect for those hotter days.
    J x

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    1. Sometimes I blitz, sometimes I blitz half and then mix it back with the chunky half. That time I would not or could not wait.

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  4. Lovely dress Pam and beautiful fabric.
    Hugs-x-

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    1. Thank you Sheila, it was a real bargain from the fabric guild at £2.20 a metre.

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  5. I loved the fabric of the dress, the perfect shape for those warm summer days. The soup looked good too, although maybe a little spicy for me.

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    1. I make spicy and not so spicy soup, it all depends on the mood at the time. As I have this little bit of a cold I put lots of fresh ginger in.

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  6. great dress, I have the ultimate shift dress pattern and love it ! might have to pull it out

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    1. I saw Tina of Simply in Stitches showing hers and liked it, then last night I spotted a review of the pattern by someone else and thought it shapeless. Perhaps it depends on body shape but it has put me off spending £14.50 on a pattern that I may not like.

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  7. The soup looks lovely and thick. I think I'll borrow your recipe. Love the material for the dress and it look a lovely floaty cool design. You are very productive!

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    1. It is more of a list of ingredients than a recipe but it works every time. Once I started sewing it just flew along and i was hemming almost before I knew it. Not using a zip saved lots of time, and money.

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  8. The soup looks delicious. really pretty fabric for the dress, and I love the idea of making it so that you can wear it either alone in hot weather, or with a turtleneck or other shirt under it in cooler weather. Nice!

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    1. I like to get as much use from my clothes as possible and items that can cross the seasons fit the bill nicely.

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  9. The food sounds great! It is definitely soup season, yours looks so inviting! The dress is very pretty! I need to make myself some summer dresses too, I usually just end up on the porch in my pj's, but I'd love to wear some comfy flowy dresses this summer!

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    1. When we do get hot days it is a shock to our systems in the UK so it has to be loose clothing, I will be making some longer versions as well.

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  10. You did very well on the dress. I also like looser fitting clothes in the summer hot and will quite often use a belt for a bit of shaping.

    God bless.

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    1. I can not cope with tight clothing at any time but on hot days, I want loose and flowing garments as you walk they swing and keep the air moving which is cooling.

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  11. I came to look at your dress then stayed to read about the soup... sounds delicious!
    My favourite shift dress pattern is New Look 6145, closely followed by Butterick 6258. The New Look pattern has more of an A-line silhouette so it swings more. I haven't tried it in cotton because I made them for the winter with woolly tights and boots, but I think it would work.

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  12. I will be having a look at those patterns, thank you for the heads up.

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